U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,089,919; 4,114,213; and 4,793,793 disclose apparatus for foaming a shell component. The shell component is inserted into a cavity mold and is held in place therein by providing a plurality of vacuum ports in the cavity mold which, when activated, will draw the shell component against the cavity mold.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,120 discloses seat foam molding apparatus that combines vacuum retention with push bars to hold cover material in the mold. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,806,088 and 4,808,100 disclose gate apparatus for assisting placement of a textile cover over a female mold followed by vacuum forming of the cover on the mold.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,576 discloses a mold apparatus that has a holding pin for connecting a metal top of a ski in a mold for molding a fiberglass epoxy resin to the metal top.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,170 discloses a foam mold having strips interposed between cover sheets for fastening the cover sheets within a mold apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,736 discloses mold apparatus having clamps for securing an elastic membrane to the periphery of the mold.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,195,046 and 4,544,126 disclose a magnet in a mold apparatus for locating a reinforcing insert therein with respect to mold halves utilized in the molding process. There is no suggestion of providing means in association with the magnets to remove wrinkles from a flexible skin or shell component.
In the manufacture of many composite products, a flexible skin or shell component is placed in the mold prior to directing foam precursors into the mold for forming a foam layer against the back of the skin layer. Currently, vinyl skins are held in place in a pour mold member by use of masking tape or vacuum as set forth in the above-identified -793 patent. However, in certain cases where the skin is thick or the retainers have variable dimensions, the skin can be pulled into the cavity when the mold closes to cause wrinkles to develop in the skin. Such wrinkles are retained in the final composite product once the foam layer is molded against the back side of the wrinkled skin. Such products must be scrapped. In the case of products such as instrument panels or other automotive interior products, the cost of such scrap material can be substantial.